Industry says it's working for safety; AFL-CIO wants more inspectors
DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER Star-Tribune energy reporter with wire reports | Posted: Thursday, April 28, 2005 12:00 am
Workplace deaths
There were 37 work-related fatalities in Wyoming in 2003, according to the AFL-CIO:
* 26 were traffic-related.
* 3 resulted from exposure to harmful substances.
* 4 resulted from falls.
* 4 resulted from workers being struck by objects.
* 33 were men, 4 were women.
* 8 died in mining-related jobs, and 5 in construction.
To view the complete AFL-CIO report - "Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect; a National State-by-State Profile of Worker Safety and Health in the United States" - go online to www.aflcio.org.
GILLETTE - Wyoming ranks worst in the nation for work-related fatalities, with a rate of 13.9 deaths per 100,000 workers -- far worse than the national average of 4 deaths per 100,000 workers, according to a labor union report.
The AFL-CIO is issuing its report today, based on statistics from 2003 from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
There were 37 work-related fatalities in Wyoming in 2003, according to the report. Of those, 26 were transportation deaths - not en route to and from work, but related to actual work that requires an employee to drive, such as delivering parts.
In 2002, 33 people died on the job in Wyoming. The highest number of deaths on the job in the last 10 years was in 2001, when 40 workers died.
Alaska and Montana joined Wyoming among the deadliest for workers in the nation, while Connecticut, Delaware and Massachusetts were the least deadly.
"What we see is the trend to essentially discourage workers from reporting incidents," AFL-CIO occupation safety and health specialist Deborah Weinstock told the Casper Star-Tribune.
Weinstock said though mining, oil and gas and other industries have expanded safety programs during the past two decades, some of the emphasis on safety isn't backed up in practice.
And some programs, such as a "no lost-time" counter associated with a prize, might actually discourage employees from reporting accidents and dangerous situations, Weinstock said.
Several local safety officials and the Wyoming Contractors Association expressed concern about how the numbers are being crunched for Wyoming.
Charlie Ware, executive vice president of the Wyoming Contractors Association, noted Wyoming has a much smaller labor pool than other states. Also, a larger portion of jobs in Wyoming are in the higher-risk areas such as drilling, mining and construction.
Still, there's room for improvement, he said.
"Are we taking action? Yes, we are," Ware said.
Weinstock said unsafe conditions can arise when those higher-risk industries take on more work with fewer employees. Ware said the oil and gas industry acknowledged a work force shortage and training problem after a series of rig-related deaths in the Pinedale region. In response, several contractors and energy companies established the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Training Program in Casper this year.
"Really, (the rig deaths) were the driving reason why the governor asked me if we could start drilling classes," Ware said.
Kim Floyd, executive secretary of the Wyoming AFL-CIO, said the state needs more safety inspectors, but the Legislature has refused to provide money for more.
"Industry just does not want to see any more regulation or safety regulation put on," Floyd said. "…We have a majority party in the state of Wyoming that caters to industry and to ag, and the little guy gets left out of that debate."
David Sneed, executive director of the Wyoming Montana Safety Council, worried that the AFL-CIO report seems to cast Wyoming as a rogue, unsafe place to work. Nothing could be further from the truth, he said.
"I know that a lot of the companies I work with have zero tolerance for safety violations. They will terminate a contractor on the spot," Sneed said.
Sneed said the big companies in mining and oil and gas production insist that their contract companies abide by their same safety policies. That presents a challenge for some of those smaller companies that don't have as many resources for training.
"Every one of my clients wants safety more and more, better and better," Sneed said.
Energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer can be reached at (307) 682-3388 or dzeffer@trib.com.